Title: Mastering Literature Reviews: Unlocking the Keys to Effective Research

Embarking on a literature review, systematic review, or meta-analysis can often feel like navigating a
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Prospectively planned meta-analyses will not be further discussed in this article. If so, you might
consider proposing a collaboration or modifying your aims. Your second move should be to consult
a clinical librarian or someone with experience conducting a systematic review for tips on setting up
your project. For full interpretation of data, there are a whole raft of factors that should be
considered together (not simply the statistical answer to your question); these issues are incorporated
into the GRADE approach (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and
Evaluation) for assessing the evidence (15). In the interpretation of the results, possible limitations
should be discussed and considered. For this reason, most systematic reviews are conducted by
teams, given the large scope of the data initially collected for most research topics. Commonly for
systematic reviews of the effectiveness of treatments, the question will follow a “PICOS” format (to
define the Population, Intervention(s), Comparison(s), Outcomes and Study designs of interest to the
review). Bias can be minimized during the conduct of studies (e.g., through randomizing participants,
allocation concealment, blinding patients, researchers and healthcare personnel, withdrawals and
drop-outs, reporting of outcomes, etc.), and these are tangible things that can be assessed in a
systematic review to form judgments about the risk of bias, and how believable the results of the
studies are. As a researcher, you will probably want the opportunity to communicate and exchange
ideas with people from a broad range of disciplines, and some review organizations provide
seminars, conferences and online discussion rooms so creating a hub for a community. WHO
collaborative study of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives. Since systematic reviews, by definition,
collect information from previous research, the pitfalls of new primary studies is avoided. Studies
that are different can’t be combined for meta-analysis. These approaches include a comprehensive
search of all potentially relevant articles and the use of explicit, reproducible criteria in the selection
of articles for a systematic review. Literature Review Literature reviews are mostly used to review
books or published articles. Approach the grey literature methodically and purposefully. For this
reason, there is probably a publication bias, because these studies had not been published. 8. How
were the results interpreted. In the upper funnel plot (Figure 2a), there is a roughly funnel shaped
distribution of the effect estimates of the individual studies around the pooled effect estimates
(middle broken line). Main Objective Answer and discuss topics that have straight answers, such as
clinical discussions with no biases. The heterogeneity can be formally investigated with the help of
statistical tests. Search results may be filtered by screening titles first, then abstracts of relevant-
looking titles and finally the full reports. In short, the evidence against or for the question at hand is
summarized. The purpose of this section is to provide enough detail to enable other researchers to
replicate the review. The overall (pooled) effect size is 0.39, or a 61% reduction in the risk of
parasitemia. As part of the publishing process, you should expect peer review, copy editor support
and the database or journal to be rated as of international standard. This process is more ad hoc for
literature reviews. Methods The various types of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of scientific
articles will be defined and the procedure will be explained. Radeva-Petrova et al. ( 2014 ) wrap up
on page 120. Time Needed to Complete Review Usually takes months or even years to reach a
dependable conclusion. The data is also analyzed for heterogeneity (variation within outcomes), and
generalizability (similarities between outcomes) within the individual studies, which facilitates more
effective clinical decision making. An annotated bibliography might suffice for a literature review.
As part of the publishing process, you should expect peer review, copy editor support and the
database or journal to be rated as of international standard. Where meta-analysis is not appropriate,
the results may be presented using tables and text. Starting with a systematic review pays off almost
every time one is available. If you look at the diamond at the bottom of the plot, the middle of the
diamond is the point estimate of the effect size and the widest points of the diamond represent the
CIs. Formulation of the question Usually address broad questions Usually address focused questions.
Tranfield D. Denyer P. Smart Business 2003 TLDR The extent to which the process of systematic
review can be applied to the management field in order to produce a reliable knowledge stock and
enhanced practice by developing context-sensitive research is evaluated. Step 4: Extraction You can’t
use the whole study or research paper for your review. Step 4: Perform the search in the desired area
of study. My favourite thing to do at the weekend is get up early and go for a swim in the sea. It is
important to interpret these for yourself so that you can check whether the conclusions of the
systematic review accurately reflect the findings. Subgroup analyses and the consideration of
potential confounders (Glossary) are often impossible, or only possible to a limited extent ( 1, 19 ).
Data synthesis Qualitative description employing the “vote. When this interval crosses the line of no
effect, the effect could be null or could even run in the opposite direction. Studies that are different
can’t be combined for meta-analysis. Data extraction Methods usually not described Usually
undertaken by more than one. In contrast, systematic review articles (B) claim that, if possible, they
consider all published studies on a specific theme—after the application of previously defined
inclusion and exclusion criteria ( 11 ). Reviews that do not contain meta-analysis can still synthesise
study data to produce something that has greater value than the sum of its parts. The processes of
indexing retrieved studies, and extracting and managing the data can be daunting and some reviews
will require specialist analytical software. It is possible at this stage that you need to go back to your
protocol and reconsider if the methods are still fit-for-purpose (Fig. 2). Reading and Critically
Appraising Systematic Reviews. Malinauskaite D. Cook B. Davi?sdottir Helga Ogmundardottir J.
The WHO collaborative study of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives. Instructions of this sort help
to lay down standards for the summary of individual studies. Pharmaceutical companies use meta-
analysis to gauge their model’s generalizability, developing and validating different prediction
models. Heterogeneity Usually dealt with in a narrative fashion Heterogeneity dealt with by
graphical and. Bias is a systematic deviation from the truth; it may overestimate or underestimate the
true effect, and it may be large or small. As we move forward in the book, we’ll consider why a
study like Villegas et al. ( 2007 ) was judged to have a low risk of bias across all dimensions, where
as a study like Cot et al. ( 1995 ) was classified as having a high risk of bias and flagged for not
providing enough information. Semantic Scholar is a free, AI-powered research tool for scientific
literature, based at the Allen Institute for AI. There have been systematic literature reviews that have
analysed the. By application of scientific strategies, it is possible to minimize error and bias to
provide a more reliable and precise estimate of an intervention’s effectiveness. Use a spreadsheet.
Please note this is a very loose outline be sure to speak with your supervisor to ensure that their
requirements are met and that specific elements of your literature reviewresearch are covered.
It is crucial to predefine criteria for study selection and data analysis to ensure transparency and
reproducibility while generating an effective and meaningful systematic review. Step 4: Extraction
You can’t use the whole study or research paper for your review. Subgroup analyses and the
consideration of potential confounders (Glossary) are often impossible, or only possible to a limited
extent ( 1, 19 ). You can either pursue the idea of comparing such different material, at the risk of
findings that don’t really answer the review question. Hence, narrower CIs allow us to be more
confident that the estimated effect size is close to the true effect size. A literature review is a
discussion on the already existing material in the subject area. In contrast, systematic review articles
(B) claim that, if possible, they consider all published studies on a specific theme—after the
application of previously defined inclusion and exclusion criteria ( 11 ). A selective literature search
was performed for this purpose. The Process of Systematic Reviews Here is how you would get a
systematic review started, described in steps. These are mostly used in the health and medical field,
but they are not rare in fields such as social sciences and environmental science. There is research and
statistics in this sort of research rather than thoughts and opinions. Data synthesis Qualitative
description employing the “vote. Main Objective Answer and discuss topics that have straight
answers, such as clinical discussions with no biases. Narrative reviews (A) mostly provide a broad
overview of a specific topic ( 1, 11 ). Using the above example, this systematic review might be
included in a broader OoR which examines a range of interventions to reduce neurological damage
following coronary artery bypass surgery (Figure 1). Meta-analyses of published data (C) are
performed to calculate additional pooled effect estimates from the individual studies ( 1 ). Reviews
as such have a comprehensive but not exhaustive approach. The aim of the present article is to
describe and distinguish these forms and to allow the reader to perform a critical analysis of the
results of individual studies and the quality of the systematic review or meta-analysis. By formally
assessing the conflicting study results, it is possible to eventually reach new hypotheses and explore
the reasons for controversy. WHO collaborative study of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives.
Studies are not created equal, and the weight parameter lets researchers account for these differences
in the analysis. They provide reliable information that has a real impact on society. Hence, wherever
a systematic review has been published, it is important to critically appraise it before using it to
inform practice. Results The method section describes the individual steps for the extraction of the
relevant points which must be considered in the systematic summary of scientific articles (Box). Use
a spreadsheet. Please note this is a very loose outline be sure to speak with your supervisor to ensure
that their requirements are met and that specific elements of your literature reviewresearch are
covered. Systematic reviews result in high-quality secondary data that concretely substantiates the
case made. In a meta-analysis, the main objective is to provide more precise estimates of the effects
of a treatment or of a risk factor for a disease, than any of the individual studies included in the
pooled analysis. The main reason is that the observational studies may entail an increased risk of
biases and high levels of heterogeneity. Individual data can be removed in accordance with the
prospective specifications in the study protocol, without it being necessary to exclude the whole
study. The general application of systematic review is high in healthcare industries, as it where the
review originated.
An advantage of meta-analysis is that it has the ability to be completely objective in evaluating the
research parameter. If so, you might consider proposing a collaboration or modifying your aims.
Your second move should be to consult a clinical librarian or someone with experience conducting a
systematic review for tips on setting up your project. Use a spreadsheet. Please note this is a very
loose outline be sure to speak with your supervisor to ensure that their requirements are met and that
specific elements of your literature reviewresearch are covered. All point estimates fall to the left of
the line of no effect ( 1 would mean the risk was higher among the intervention group, thus favoring
the control group (with no treatment). The general application of systematic review is high in
healthcare industries, as it where the review originated. Prior to completing the review, it would be
advisable to consider rerunning the search to check for any recently published studies that the first
search may have missed. Pharmaceutical companies use meta-analysis to gauge their model’s
generalizability, developing and validating different prediction models. The results of a meta-analysis
are typically summarized in a forest plot like the one shown in Figure 3.7. Let’s take a look at this
helpful guide from Ried ( 2006 ) that breaks it all down. In short, systematic reviews and meta-
analysis are both used to reduce bias in studies and provide comprehensive evidence to a question or
a truth (statistical estimate). A selective literature search was performed for this purpose. This is
where the researcher shows his knowledge on the subject area he or she is researching on. In pooled
reanalyses (D), the pooled effect estimates are mostly calculated by logistic or linear regression.
These review techniques have evolved over time and can sometimes influence each other a little bit.
It is worth checking that, based on issues around risk of bias, you agree with the conclusions made
by the systematic review authors. Next, the reviewers extract the relevant data and assess the quality
of the included studies. CRD’s Guidance for those Carrying out or Commissioning Reviews. A
literature review should have the following features (Caulley, 1992). A good appendix is a treasure
trove of information. Where there is a high degree of heterogeneity (variability between studies,
either in types of participants, interventions or outcomes, or study design, risk of bias or results), it
may not be appropriate to combine their results using meta-analysis. Step 2: Get the Research Started
Designated review teams will go through studies with a sensitive and productive search strategy. For
a systematic review to be deemed “systematic,” it needs to follow a set protocol, in order to be
replicable, transparent, and (as much as possible) free from bias. When the outcome is something
bad, like death, the intervention should be designed to reduce the risk, which is represented by a risk
ratio less than 1. Depending on the nature of the factors and target parameters (binary, categorical or
continuous variables), a logistic or a linear regression model is used to calculate the effect estimates
of the individual studies in the meta-analyses of published data (C) and pooled reanalyses (D).
Narrative synthesis should not be confused with narrative review, which is a term sometimes used
for a non-systematic review of the literature (for example in a textbook chapter) where there is no
systematic attempt to address issues of bias. It is based on the understanding that all similar studies
contain a common truth between them to which all individual studies arrive with a degree of error.
This information is often presented graphically in a flow diagram like this one from Radeva-Petrova
et al. ( 2014 ). It is crucial to predefine criteria for study selection and data analysis to ensure
transparency and reproducibility while generating an effective and meaningful systematic review.
Although meta-analysis is not always conducted in the framework of systematic reviews, it most
often is used in systematic reviews that involve combining studies with numerical results. On the
other hand if you opt for a synthesis by considering the interventions and populations which are not
similar. They are therefore a good way of rapidly obtaining current information on research on a
given topic.
Like systematic review articles, they are feasible whether the authors of the original articles are
prepared to cooperate or not. Additionally they represent a chance to publish without (or before)
undertaking primary research. Figure 2 ( gif ppt ) shows an example with simulated data. It explains
the background to these methodologies, what is involved, and how to get started, keep going, and
finish. For instance, the intervention may work differently in different contexts, and the included
studies were gathered from all over the world. Given below are the main stages of a systematic
review. Components of a review Traditional, narrative reviews Systematic reviews. All systematic
reviews, including those that use meta-analysis, are likely to contain an element of narrative
synthesis by summarising in words the evidence included in the review. The different types of review
and meta-analysis are discussed with examples from the literature on one particular topic. For busy
clinicians and health care providers, thank goodness for the systematic review. Bias can be
minimized during the conduct of studies (e.g., through randomizing participants, allocation
concealment, blinding patients, researchers and healthcare personnel, withdrawals and drop-outs,
reporting of outcomes, etc.), and these are tangible things that can be assessed in a systematic review
to form judgments about the risk of bias, and how believable the results of the studies are. There
have been systematic literature reviews that have analysed the. Therefore, it becomes critical to study
their validity. Individual data can be removed in accordance with the prospective specifications in
the study protocol, without it being necessary to exclude the whole study. How many patients does
case series should have In comparison to case reports. Literature Review Literature reviews are
mostly used to review books or published articles. The consensus reporting guidelines for different
study designs proposed by EQUATOR ( ) are a useful starting point. However, not all research areas
have enough evidence to allow a meta-analysis. My favourite thing to do at the weekend is get up
early and go for a swim in the sea. Hence, narrower CIs allow us to be more confident that the
estimated effect size is close to the true effect size. They are also necessary for the development of
S2 and S3 guidelines for formal evidence-based research ( 25 ). You may also check the final price
on our Language Editing Simulator. It is crucial to predefine criteria for study selection and data
analysis to ensure transparency and reproducibility while generating an effective and meaningful
systematic review. It’s best if this part is done by two independent people. Hypothermia to reduce
neurological damage following coronary artery bypass surgery. This is the median control group risk
across 8 trials of 3,663 women. The results of each study are presented and analyzed according to
defined criteria, such as study design and mode of recruitment. This process is more ad hoc for
literature reviews. Find your local Melbourne hair salon or book online today. In such a case, it
might not make sense to attempt to determine one overall meta effect size from a comparison of the
studies.
The main reason is that the observational studies may entail an increased risk of biases and high
levels of heterogeneity. Expand 9,425 PDF Save Assessment of forest ecosystem service research
trends and methodological approaches at global level: a meta-analysis Wondimagegn Mengist T.
Work Sample of Research Proposal Work Sample of Research Proposal An-empirical-examination-
of-the-text-structure-of-original-research-articles-. These are mostly used in the health and medical
field, but they are not rare in fields such as social sciences and environmental science. Not every
study is designed or implemented equally, however, so review authors must also evaluate the
potential for bias in each study to help the reader make sense of the findings. It is important to
interpret these for yourself so that you can check whether the conclusions of the systematic review
accurately reflect the findings. Fair and just food systems enabling local midstream businesses. This
may indicate whether the effect of the corresponding risk factors (Glossary) is different in the
different subgroups. Please take a moment and use the link to the right to download and skim
through the article. Like any other aspect of research, however, systematic reviews must define and
follow a method that can be replicated. However, the statistical analysis must adequately allow for
the origin of the data sets from different studies. It is therefore an approach for systematically
combining pertinent qualitative and quantitative study data from several included studies to establish
a single conclusion that has significant statistical power. Of these 141 people, 1 person experienced
the adverse outcome that the forest plot summarizes. Examining the heterogeneity of effect
estimates within the primary studies is perhaps the most important task in a meta-analysis. An
extensive literature search must be performed for studies on the topic. Figure 3.4: Drugs for
preventing malaria in pregnancy: conceptual framework. Publications on the association between the
administration of oral contraceptives and the development of cervical carcinoma were used as
examples of the performance of a systematic literature review (B), a meta-analysis of published data
(C), and a pooled reanalysis (D). Document your systematic literature review research question
criteria info sources search keywords searches systematic literature review templates for
documenting your question criteria information sources search strategy and searches. 2 writing a
systematic literature review. To do this, you can either use meta-analysis or narrative synthesis.
General types of questions often considered by such checklists include the following. In systematic
reviews, specific details are extracted from every study included, such as numbers of participants,
methods, analysis techniques, and key outcomes. Parameter Systematic Reviews Literature Reviews
Basic Definition Review of focused questions by assessing, synthesizing, identifying, and selecting
appropriate studies. The different types of review and meta-analysis are discussed with examples
from the literature on one particular topic. Figure 2 ( gif ppt ) shows an example with simulated data.
Enhance your personal style with the help of our experienced hairdressers, stylists and colourists. By
formally assessing the conflicting study results, it is possible to eventually reach new hypotheses and
explore the reasons for controversy. We caught up with some of the winners to discover the impact
of their work and find out more about their experiences. Clinical Governance and Risk Management:
Achieving safe, effective patient-focused care and services. It is possible at this stage that you need
to go back to your protocol and reconsider if the methods are still fit-for-purpose (Fig. 2). Reading
and Critically Appraising Systematic Reviews. The process includes conducting systematic reviews,
meta-analysis, clinical practice guidelines and methodology research. ( Mayo Clinic Science of
Health Care Delivery: Robert D.
Report this Document Download now Save Save How to Do a Systematic Literature Review and
Meta-. Step 2: Get the Research Started Designated review teams will go through studies with a
sensitive and productive search strategy. Key Differences Between Light Cream And Heavy Cream
Posted in Education Search for. Data extraction is also often independently performed by two
authors with disagreements being solved by arbitration and discussion. Every year, there is a great
increase in the number of scientific publications. How were the effect estimates of the individual
studies calculated?—Systematic review articles (B) usually contain tables with the effect estimates
of the individual studies. Examining the heterogeneity of effect estimates within the primary studies
is perhaps the most important task in a meta-analysis. The retrieved studies are then screened for
eligibility using the inclusion and exclusion criteria (this is done by at least two people working
independently). Narrative reviews will not be further discussed in this article. However, the
statistical analysis must adequately allow for the origin of the data sets from different studies. Let’s
take a look at a few related questions that you might have about systematic reviews and meta-
analysis. This may indicate whether the effect of the corresponding risk factors (Glossary) is different
in the different subgroups. This would typically involve searching a range of relevant bibliographic
databases using appropriate search terms, the reference lists of included studies and for grey
literature (unpublished studies). Note that even though all studies may appear to be retrieved, there
are many studies which are not published due to nonsignificant results. The WHO collaborative study
of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives. Systematic reviews result in high-quality secondary data that
concretely substantiates the case made. Data will be collected regarding the reasons for exclusion.
You may find that systematic review software will help you to manage this stage (see Ref. 7 for
further guidance on choosing appropriate software). You will want the organization be up to date
with good reporting practice, and to ensure that their guidance, handbooks and style guides help you
to achieve these standards. These present, for each comparison and outcome, both the study effects
(and CIs) derived from individual studies and a pooled effect of all the studies. The WHO
collaborative study of neoplasia and steroid contraceptives. The data is also analyzed for
heterogeneity (variation within outcomes), and generalizability (similarities between outcomes)
within the individual studies, which facilitates more effective clinical decision making. Like any
other aspect of research, however, systematic reviews must define and follow a method that can be
replicated. Methods The various types of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of scientific articles
will be defined and the procedure will be explained. Similarly, a well-conducted systematic review
might not have been recently updated and its findings might not therefore be based on current
primary research. Search results may be filtered by screening titles first, then abstracts of relevant-
looking titles and finally the full reports. A small number of high quality studies with a low risk of
bias is preferable to lots of poorly reported or conducted studies. This helps to make the differences
between the studies clear with respect to the data examined. 6. Were the calculations of the effect
estimates of the individual studies and of the pooled effect estimate presented. In pooled reanalyses
(D), the pooled effect estimates are mostly calculated by logistic or linear regression. Meta-analysis
might prove to be a bad choice when the answer to the review question is better with qualitative data.